Description:James Watt (1736-1819), Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer. As Boulton & Watt, he formed a successful partnership with Matthew Boulton, who owned the Soho Foundry works near Birmingham. He is famous for improving the Newcomen steam engine to make the Watt steam engine a crucial element of the Industrial Revolution.
Mezzotint by C. Turner, after a portrait by Sir William Beechey.